First Day of Clinical

[Photo removed for privacy reasons.]

Today was our first day at the hospital site for our clinical rotation. We rotated through a long-term care facility in the fall, but this time we’ll be coming up with nutritional interventions for a wider variety of patients. More responsibility for us 😮

I thought it wouldn’t be a good idea to take pictures during clinical, so you’ll have to see the hospital through words only. First, we sampled a number of nutritional supplements, including Ensure, Boost, and supplements for renal patients and patients with malabsorption. Did you know that you can smell amino acids?? The predigested supplement for malabsorption was the most off-putting and had the worst aftertaste, but in general, I wouldn’t want to be drinking these supplements long-term. Sampling these supplements really helped me understand how difficult it must be for some patients to get enough nutrition to sustain them.

Next, we toured the hospital and visited all the patient wings. We then went over all the skills we’ll be practicing this semester: nutrition evaluation considering medical history, nutrition interventions, and monitoring. The nutrition care plan we’ll be completing for each patient is very long! I have a feeling I’ll be chained to my computer this spring.

I’m really glad the hospital charts all their patients electronically. Last fall, we we’re deciphering handwritten charts, and let me tell you, legibility is a lost art.

We left the hospital a little early. I came back to the apartment and saw some new life:

I experimented with a new recipe for dinner, but I’m not going to share it with you … yet! I’ll just give you a sneak preview:

Stay tuned — details forthcoming!

We’re dogsitting for the next week at Peter’s parents’ house, so I cleaned the apartment. It’s so nice to have a clean house when you return from time away, isn’t it?

Maddie has a habit of ripping plush toys along their seams and pulling the innards out through the holes. As you can imagine, playtime with Maddle can leave a mess:

A little while later:

Much better.